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Kevin Hart
Kevin John Hart (born 5 July 1954) is an English-born Australian poet, theologian, and philosopher. He is currently Edwin B. Kyle Professor of Christian Studies and Chair of the Religious Studies Department at the University of Virginia.http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/religiousstudies/people/kjh9u.html He has received multiple awards for his poetry, including the Christopher Brennan Award and the Grace Leven Prize for Poetry twice. Life Hart was born near London, England, to James Henry Hart and his wife, Rosina Mary Wooton. Hart's family moved to Brisbane, Australia, in 1966. Hart attended secondary school at Oxley State High School, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from the Australian National University. Hart earned a Ph.D. from the University of Melbourne in 1986. In 1991 he became Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Monash University, rising to full Professor in 1995 and also becoming Director of the Centre for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies and the Institute for Critical and Cultural Studies. He also taught in the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology. Leaving Monash in 2002, he became Professor of Philosophy and Literature at the University of Notre Dame, a position he held until 2007, when he became Edwin B. Kyle Professor of Christian Studies at the University of Virginia, a position he holds as of 2014. Writing Theology and literary criticism In his professional life, Kevin Hart is primarily known as a theologian who works in two areas: systematic theology and religion and literature. His work in systematic theology has not yet been collected into volumes but remains as uncollected essays and chapters. As a theologian and philosopher, Hart's work epitomizes the "theological turn" in phenomenology, with a focus on figures like Maurice Blanchot, Emmanuel Levinas, Jean-Luc Marion and Jacques Derrida.In general, Hart's approach is to ground theology in a phenomenology of the Christ, both a phenomenology of Jesus's words and actions, and an account of Jesus as performing epoche and reduction, especially through the parables. On Hart's understanding, the preaching of the Kingdom brings forth Christ's death and that preaching is confirmed by the Resurrection. His work on the Christian mystical tradition is focused on practices of contemplation.Kevin Hart, "Contemplation: Beyond and Beneath," Sophia 48 (2009), 435–59 In terms of religion and literature, Hart has written extensively on English and French poetry and Christianity, especially Christian mysticism. Recent work has converged on Geoffrey Hill.Kevin Hart, "God’s Little Mountains: Young Geoffrey Hill and the Problem of Religious Poetry," Sacred Worlds: Religion, Literature, and the Imagination (2009), ed. Mark Knight and Louise Lee (Continuum), 23–36; "Transcendence in Tears," Gazing Through a Prim Darkly, ed. Keith Putt (New York: Fordham University Press, 2009), 116–38; and "’it / is true,’" Words of Life: New Theological Turns in French Phenomenology, ed. Bruce Benson and Norman Wirzba (Fordham University Press), 68–86. One facet of his work is extensive commentary on the writing of the atheist Maurice Blanchot to whom he has devoted four books: The Dark Gaze, The Power of Contestation, Nowhere without No, and Clandestine Encounters. Hart's analysis on Blanchot was praised by Peter Craven as combining "an attractive expository technique with an openness to speculative ideas". His work on Jacques Derrida and Samuel Johnson has also been praised, although one critic said that Hart's work on Johnson was "dubious" "and inconsistent in approach". Poetry Hart's interests in poetry were piqued by an English teacher's presentation of Percy Bysshe Shelley's Ozymandias. In addition to Shelley, Hart also cites T. S. Eliot, Charles Baudelaire, Paul Éluard, Vasko Popa, Zbigniew Herbert and Gerard Manley Hopkins as influences. He first began writing poetry as a teenager, partly thanks to a Shelley anthology he had purchased and partly as an excuse to enjoy the Public Library's air conditioning during Brisbane's hot summers. Critics have noted religious and philosophical themes in Hart's poetry.Paul Kane, "Philosopher-Poets: John Koethe and Kevin Hart," Raritan 21: 1 (2001), 109–110 As Toby Davidson writes, "Kevin Hart's poetry cannot be separated from his multiple, enduring engagements with mysticism and mystical poetics. He is an innovator, suggesting new approaches to the mystical in the free facets of *attending*." Toby Davidson "Beyond Reach of Language: Kevin Hart and Christian Mysticism," Literature and Theology 24: 3 (2010), 282 Michael Brennan notes that the philosophical connection stems out of Hart's "long study into phenomenology", specifically connecting Hart's "The Room" to Heidegger's philosophy.Michael Brennan, "In Absentia: Mourning and Friendship," Jacket 27 (2005) Similarly, David McCooey detects the influence of Jacques Derrida, specifically Hart's use of metaphor an perspective. Erotic and sensual themes are also pronounced in Hart's work. Nathaniel O'Reilly notes, for example, that even though most criticism of Hart focuses on his religious themes, Hart is also an "intensely physical and sensual poet".Nathanael O'Reilly, IRWE 6: 2 (2010), 1 O'Reilly further says that Hart often links physical sensations with spiritual connections. Hart's volume Flame Tree was considered, then rejected, for the English Literature Victorian Certificate of Education in Victoria, Australia, on grounds of obscenity. The objectionable line was "My semen hot and wild inside your cunt." In his own defense, Hart claimed, "I was very surprised to think that the line could offend 18-year-olds these days. I suppose there will always be parents who are outraged about something in the curriculum.... In Australia ‘cunt’ is often used by lovers, women and men alike, and no offence need be given or taken. It can be said very tenderly...." Paul Mitchell Interviews Kevin Hart Critical response to Hart's poetry has varied. Harold Bloom, writing on the back cover of Kevin Hart's 1999 volume of poetry, Wicked Heat, strongly praised Hart, saying that he is the "most outstanding Australian poet of his generation", and one of "the major living poets in the English language". Bloom also names Hart as one of the eleven canonical writers of Australia and New Zealand in his book, The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages, specifically praising Hart's book Peniel and Other Poems.Bloom, The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1994), p 561 Other critics, such as Cyril Wong and Christian Sheppard, have also praised Hart's poetry. Some critics such as Geoffrey Lehmann and Pam Brown, however, have expressed negative views of Hart's work. while Christian Sheppard, reviewing the same volume, said "The primary pleasure of Hart's poetry, however, is an easy rhythmed, swiftly flowing line tracing the moment-by-moment impressions of an often impassioned yet always lucid mind". Lehmann, for instance, found Hart's 2008 volume, Young Rain to be self-indulgent and lacking in clear, specific meaning. Kevin Gardner, an American critic and professor, has noted that Hart’s poems "have an annoying tendency toward abstraction" and a "narcissistic symbolism" that frustrates with "surreal obfuscation." Examples from Hart's poems that Gardner cites include "the curved eyelids of a young hand," "you kiss / Like a slack orchid tongue in Cairns," death "folded tightly / Like a parachute," "let’s eat the splinters in the house," "And filch a little mouse called fear." Recognition Hart's poetry has garnered multiple awards, including the Greybeal-Gowen Prize for Poetry in 2008,http://www.wlu.edu/x32980.xml the John Shaw Neilson Poetry Award in 1977, the Mattara Poetry Award in 1982, the Wesley Michel Wright Award in 1984, the NSW Premier's Award in 1985, the Victorian Premier's Award in 1985, the Grace Leven Prize for Poetry in 1991 and 1996, the Christopher Brennan Award in 1999. Publications Poetry *''The Convert: Three sonnets''. O'Connor, ACT: Open Door Press, 1975. *''The Departure''. St. Lucia, Qld: University of Queensland Press, 1978. *''The Lines of the Hand: Poems, 1976-1979''. Sydney & London: Angus & Robertson, 1981. *''Your Shadow: Poems, 1980-1983''. Sydney & London: Angus & Robertson, 1984. *''Peniel''. Hawthorn, Vic.: Golvan Arts, 1991. *''New and Selected Poems''. Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1995. *''Dark Angel''. Dublin: Dedalus Press, 1996. *''Nineteen Songs''. Sydney: Vagabond Press, 1999. *''Wicked Heat''. Australia: Paper Bark Press, 1999. *''Madonna''. Melbourne: Vagabond Press, 2000. *''The Fifth Question and After: Poems for Tomaz ̌Sǎlammun''. Newtown, NSW: Vagabond Press, 2001. *''Flame Tree: Selected poems''. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Bloodaxe, 2002. *''Night Music''. Brunswick, Vic: Lexicon House, 2003. *''The Last Day, and other poems''. Warners Bay, NSW: Picaro Press, 2004. *''Dark Retreat''. Sydney: Vagabond Press, 2005. *''The Impossible''. Newtown, NSW: Vagabond Press, 2006. *''Young Rain'' Tarset, Northumberland, UK: Bloodaxe, 2009; Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2009. *''Morning Knowledge''. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2011. *''Kingdoms of God''. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2014. *''Wild Track: New and selected poems''. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2015. Non-fiction *''Shifting Frames: English, literature, writing''. Victoria: Centre for Studies in Literary Education, Deakin University, 1988. *''A.D. Hope''. Melbourne & New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. *''Losing the power to say 'I': An essay celebrating the four hundredth anniversary of the birth of René Descartes''. Melbourne: Art School Press, 1996. *''Samuel Johnson and the Culture of Property''. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999. *''The Trespass of the Sign: Deconstruction, theology, and philosphy''. New York: Fordham University, 2000. *''How to Read a Page of Boswell: David Fleeman memorial lecture, 1999''. Johnson Sociey of Australia / Vagabond Press, 2000. *''The Power of Contestation: Perspectives on Maurice Blanchot'' (with Geoffrey Hartman). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004. *''Postmodernism: A beginner’s guide''. Oxford, UK: OneWorld, 2004. *''The Dark Gaze: Maurice Blanchot and the sacred''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004. *''The Exorbitant: Emmanuel Levinas between Jews and Christians'' (with Michael A. Signer). New York: Fordham University Press, 2010. *''Clandestine Encounters: Philosophy in the narratives of Maurice Blanchot''. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2010. Edited *Giuseppe Ungaretti, The Buried Harbour: Selected poems. Canberra: Leros Press, 1990. *''The Oxford Book of Australian Religious Verse''. Melbourne & New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. *''Nowhere Without No: In memory of Maurice Blanchot''. Sydney: Vagabond Press, 2003. *''Derrida and Religion: Other testaments'' (edited with Yvonne M. Sherwood). New York: Routledge, 2005. *''The Experience of God: The postmodern response'' (edited with Barbara Eileen Wall). . New York: Fordham University Press, 2005. *''Counter-Experiences: Reading Jean-Luc Marion''. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2007. *Jean-Luc Marion, The Essential Writings. New York: Fordham University Press, 2013. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Kevin Hart 1954, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Sep. 17, 2016. Audio / video *''Alan Gould / Kevin Hart'' (cassette). St. Lucia, Qld: University of Queensland Press, 1975. *''Postmodernism'' (CD). Tullamarine, Vic: Bolinda Audio, 2012. Except where noted, discographical information courtesy WorldCat. See also *List of Australian poets *List of literary critics References External links ;Poems *"Nights" at Poetry 180 *Kevin Hart (Australia, 1954) at Poetry International (9 poems) ;Audio / video *Kevin Hart at YouTube ;About * [http://www.nla.gov.au/openpublish/index.php/jasal/article/view/286/460 Lachlan Brown 'Exploring the Shadow of Your Shadow' JASAL Special Issue 2007] *What We (non)Believe: Reading Poems by Charles Wright, John Burnside, and Kevin Hart, Cordite Poetry Review, 2014 Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:Australian poets Category:English poets Category:Australian people of English descent Category:English emigrants to Australia Category:Writers from the Australian Capital Territory Category:Australian literary critics Category:English literary critics Category:Australian National University alumni Category:University of Melbourne alumni Category:University of Notre Dame faculty Category:University of Virginia faculty Category:English Christians Category:Australian Christians Category:Monash University faculty Category:English male poets Category:20th-century poets Category:21st-century poets Category:Australian academics Category:English-language poets Category:Poets